


An Unexpected Encounter

by ericsonclan



Series: OG World [74]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Granola, M/M, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:08:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29320662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ericsonclan/pseuds/ericsonclan
Summary: While the Garcia family attempts to find a place they can call home they come across a rather odd stranger...
Relationships: Nurgul/Gabe (Walking Dead: Ties That Bind), Santiago/Javier (Walking Dead: Ties That Bind)
Series: OG World [74]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1815361
Kudos: 4





	An Unexpected Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> (by Laura)

They’d been driving for days. Searching for somewhere, anywhere, that they could find food and shelter, get a chance to rest and perhaps even the energy to start to rebuild something that would last. But there was nothing but danger; that was all they had found for a long time. Perhaps they should be thankful. They had a working car and a tankful of gas, both rarities so many years after the world had fallen – over a decade. Not just rarities, miracles. But cramped together in the confines of the tiny Honda Civic with no end in sight, none of the Garcias were feeling particularly grateful.

Santiago could feel his eyes drifting shut as he continued to drive down the long-abandoned road. He was dog tired. So was everybody else though. They’d almost gotten cornered a couple hours ago when they tried to scout out an abandoned store to sleeping for the night. He and Javi had fought their way through while Gabe shielded Nurgul and Luka. One of the muertos had taken a swipe at the baby. Nurgul had impaled its skull with a frantic cry and crushed its corpse underneath her as they ran. It had been far too close a call.

Glancing over to his side, Santi saw that Nurgul was still awake in the passenger seat beside him, looking dazed as she cradled a sleeping Luka in her arms. Javi and Gabe were conked out in the back seat together, both snoring. The sound was comforting in a sense. It reminded Santi that they were still alive. He looked back to Nurgul. “Do you want me to try to get the lever unstuck again so you can get some rest?” The front seats reclined, providing the most comfortable sleep one could hope for in a car, but the passenger side’s lever tended to be extra finicky.

Nurgul shook her head, giving a weak smile. “I’m good. I just want to stay up a bit longer, make sure Luka’s really settled down,” She gazed lovingly at the infant in her arms, still just a few months old. It was clear the close call today had shaken her.

Santiago nodded in understanding. “Alright. If you change your mind, just ask,”

They drove on in companionable silence, watching the sunrise as it peeked above the horizon through the trees that lined both sides of the worn-down road. Suddenly Nurgul’s eyes widened in shock. “Santi, walker!”

Santiago looked up just in time to see what she spoke of. Swerving wildly, he dodged the grubby form, barely avoiding hitting the muerto. His adjustment was too rapid though and the car skidded as he desperately pumped the breaks, the front end dipping into a ditch along the edge of the road. “Fucking shit!” Santi swore, pounding a fist against the wheel. His eyes shot over to Nurgul who was protectively hunched over a crying Luka. “Are you alright? Were either of you hurt?”

“N-no,” Nurgul let out a shaky breath. “Is the car OK? Does it still work?”

“Nuri?” Gabe’s voice had a note of panic as he woke and leaned forward. “What happened?”

“We’re OK,” Nurgul took her husband’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Nearly hit a walker back there,” Santiago stated, unbuckling his seatbelt. “Couldn’t risk hitting it head on and causing a bigger crash. It’ll probably take all of us to get the car out of the ditch though,” He made eye contact with his husband through the cracked rearview mirror. Javi was still somewhat caught in the dregs of heavy sleep and simply gave a silent nod before stepping out of the vehicle himself.

After getting out, Gabe hurried round to the other side of the vehicle to help his wife. “Honey, just stand to the side, OK? I don’t want you or Luka in the path of the car when we lift it up,”

“But you may need the extra help. I can shift Luka to my back in the sling. There’s nothing around except that one-” Nurgul paused, her eyes scanning the road. Where had that muerto gone?

“Need a hand?” an unknown voice had all four of them flinching and looking over to the source in bewilderment. There standing before them was what they had assumed at a distance was a wandering muerto. Considering it had just spoken though, it must not be a muerto after all but rather an extremely bedraggled human. They appeared to be covered in dark dried mud and a variety of leaves and other bits of fauna. Their clothes were hardly distinguishable from their body, the mud was caked on so heavily.

Javi stepped forward, placing himself between the stranger and his family. “What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere all by yourself?”

The stranger shrugged. “Got left out here. They said the community was running low on supplies, so sacrifices had to be made. I was a sacrifice. Except I didn’t die. I never do,” They stared blankly at the group for a second longer, their expression unreadable.

“Well… I’m Javi,”

“Oakley,”

The silence was drawn out again.

“So, Oakley, would you like to help us get our car out of the ditch? We could give you a ride for a while as payment,” Javi offered cautiously, eyeing the young adult for any sort of hidden weapons.

Oakley blinked. “Do you have granola?”

“What?”

“Granola,”

“…No.”

“Oh. OK then,” Turning away from them, Oakley began to head toward the woods.

“A fine attitude to have for someone who got us into this mess!” Santiago grumbled. “No wonder they got left out in the woods!”

“Let’s just focus on getting the car back on the road,” Javi replied with a world-weary sigh, stepping down into the ditch beside his husband and nephew. They had bigger concerns than figuring out that bizarre, fleeting social interaction. Working together, the men tried their best to lift the front end high enough to clear the ditch. Their feet struggled to find leverage in the damp earth, slipping again and again as they struggled. Nurgul guided their efforts from her place upon the road, directing them in how to adjust the angle of their approach while she bounced a crying Luka, trying to calm him as best she could.

It took twenty minutes to free the car from the muck and mire and have both tires back upon level ground. All four now worked as a team to push the car back far enough to safely get into it before reversing and driving off. Once it was deemed safe to enter, Santiago stepped inside to restart the car. It took a few more tries than it had before, but eventually the engine sputtered to life and he was able to safely back up the car onto the road itself. Immediately the others moved to get back in the car as well. They were all tucked safely within in once more when Nurgul paused in buckling her seat belt. “Look. It’s them,” She gestured towards the woods where the mysterious mud-laden stranger had just emerged and was walking briskly toward the car.

“Should I drive?” Santi asked, his hands upon the wheel.

“Give them one second,” Javi replied, his hand drifting down to the gun holstered at his side. Oakley didn’t seem to be the type to willingly cause harm, but just in case he was ready to draw. Rolling down the window a crack, he spoke up. “What do you want?”

“I would very much like that ride after all,” Oakley stated calmly, standing beside the open window.

“What made you change your mind,”

“The herd,”

That’s when they heard it: the faint moans and shuffles of a herd from somewhere in the distance. Soft, but distinct. That wasn’t the noise of a few wandering stragglers. That was the sound of a migration. Anything in its path would be consumed. That included Oakley if Javi refused their request. Javi eyed them suspiciously. They were utterly unreadable. Their eyes held no discernable emotion in that moment: no malice, no pain, no fear even in the face of an approaching herd. He wasn’t sure what to make of them. His family didn’t owe them anything, especially after their dismissal of the crash they had caused. But he couldn’t in good conscience leave them to die. He unlocked his door. “Alright. Get in. Gabe, make room,”

“What?! Are you crazy?” Gabe exclaimed, his eyes hardening.

“We can’t just leave them to die, Gabe!” Javi locked eyes with his nephew.

Gabe’s anger held for a moment then faltered. He couldn’t abandon them for dead either. “Fine. But they’re sitting next to me, away from Nuri and Luka,”

“Of course,” Shifting toward the door, Javi motioned for Oakley to circle to the other side of the car. They did so quickly. Opening the other car door, they silently took a seat beside Gabe, As soon as the door closed, Santi put his foot to the gas and they were off like a shot, getting as far away as they could from the sounds of impending danger. A minute or two later they couldn’t even hear the herd anymore. But it was back there, looming, coming steadily for them without fail. They couldn’t risk simply driving till they ran out of gas. They needed to find somewhere to ride out the storm, a place with thick, sturdy walls that could withstand a herd.

Javi looked over at their newest passenger who was gazing out the window in calm interest. “Oakley. We need to find shelter. Do you know anywhere we can be safe, at least till the herd passes through?”

Oakley’s eyes shifted to the floor. They nodded slowly. “I do,”


End file.
